Gavin Newsom’s leaving some major fiscal problems behind

Newsom oversees years of failed California water policy

2026 began in California with two atmospheric rivers and storms, which resulted in precipitation that was 119% of average rainfall for January. However, much of it flowed into the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, by the end of February our statewide snowpack was only 66% of average for this date, constituting a significant decline from 85% at this time last year. This is critical because the snowpack acts as a reservoir that releases water to rivers and…

Gavin Newsom’s leaving some major fiscal problems behind

When Gavin Newsom became governor of California in early 2019, general fund expenditures were $147 billion. Six years later, they are budgeted to hit $238 billion, an increase of 62 percent. That compares to an increase in total personal income in California over that period of 33 percent. Since California’s population stayed about the same since 2019, at 39.6 million, per capita general fund spending also increased by 62 percent, from $3,700 pe…